Old Norse Poetry in Performance by Brian McMahon;Annemari Ferreira; & Annemari Ferreira

Author:Brian McMahon;Annemari Ferreira; & Annemari Ferreira
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Unlimited)
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Complex Evidence Stanzas in Which the Name of the PoemIs Cited in the Prose

In the examples of episodes containing complex evidence stanzas studied so far, the name of the poem from which the stanzas have been drawn has not been given, but in the cases where the name of the poem is provided, the narrator of Fagrskinna draws attention to two things: firstly, that the stanzas belong together and secondly, that the longer poem has a distinct form in its own right from which stanzas can be drawn, as opposed to presenting stanzas that he cites as lausavísur. In chapter 29, the prosimetric section cites a number of stanzas and explains what the poem is talking about several times. The stanzas more or less act as an explicit source for the prose. The poem is named as Nesjavísur and a total of seven stanzas are cited, each separated from the next by prose.

The stanzas cited from the poem are not thought to be consecutive, and run in the order Nesjavísur stanzas 4, 1, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14 (stanzas 129–35 in Fagrskinna). The prosimetric unit opens with a line that clearly states the names of both the poet and the poem: Sighvatr segir gørst frá þessum bardaga í Nesjavísum ‘Sighvatr tells most clearly of this battle in Nesjavísur’ (Bjarni Einarsson 1985, 174; trans. Finlay 2004, 140). This stanza functions as a standard evidence stanza. The rest of the prosimetric unit is unusual, because it pays close attention to the context of the composition of the poem, and the saga narrative is at pains to relate the stanzas of the poem to each other. This section begins by introducing the first stanza of Nesjavísur with Sighvatr hefr svá Nesjavísur ‘Sighvatr begins Nesjavísur like this’ (Bjarni Einarsson 1985, 174; trans. Finlay 2004, 140). The prose following the stanza refers both back to the content of the stanza just quoted and forward to the next stanza: Hér gat þess, at þá váru þessi tíðendi ný orðin, er kvæðit var ort, ok sá orti sjálfr, er í var bardaganum, ok í sama kvæði segir hann enn svá ‘Here it is mentioned that these events had only just happened when the poem was composed, and one who took part in the battle composed it himself, and in the same poem he says further’ (Bjarni Einarsson 1985, 175; trans. Finlay 2004, 141). This passage of prose emphasises that the poet was present at the battle; this indicates that the content of the poem was completely trustworthy, also because it was composed at the time of the battle itself, stressing both its age and authenticity. After the stanza that follows there is a simple prose insert of Ok enn kvað hann þetta ‘And further he recited this’ (Bjarni Einarsson 1985, 176; trans. Finlay 2004, 141). After the stanza that follows (st.132), we once again find a reference by the narrator back to something that has already happened in the saga Hér vísar til þess, er fyrr var

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